Starfox: Amends
by Dreams and Hard Realities
Summary: Venom is overrun and barren once more. Dash Bowman is dead and an unknown being plans to take over the Lylat System. Can Fox McCloud bring his team back together even though they have broken up and moved separate ways? Set after Command, uses more endings
1. When We're Dead

A/N:

A/N: I'm so proud of myself. I finally came up with a story that is Fox and Krystal based! This one is set after Command, though I haven't played it, though I have a pretty good knowledge of all the endings. I've tried combining a few of them, but who knows what'll happen. Enjoy!

--

1700 13 April 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), Corneria City

Fox McCloud wandered aimlessly along Corneria's capital city, his paws thrust into the pockets of his jeans. Several months had passed since the destruction of the Angler rebellion. The vulpine had come within reach of bringing his team back together, but after being apart, there was a tension built around them. Krystal wouldn't forgive him; eventually leading her to what she believed was her true calling with Star Wolf and to continue with Panther Caruso. Fox personally hated the jungle cat more than Wolf O'Donnell.

Falco left and formed his own team, Star Falco. He had invited the fox to watch the tryouts for the team, he declined, it was obviously just a way to mock him. Slippy retired to Aquas with his new love life, Amanda and tried to stay in touch with McCloud, who ignored it.

Peppy Hare was doing well in his job as general. The rabbit was the only one who Fox could really talk to. It was hard though for both of them, Peppy rarely had the chance to get out of his work and visit with the vulpine.

No one paid any attention to McCloud anymore. No more small children running to his feet, yelling to her parents, 'It's Fox McCloud! It's Fox McCloud!' No more crazy fan girls chasing him around. Fox was alone now. His team was gone, his family was dead, and all he could do now was wait and hope he got a call soon.

Fox turned onto his street and slowed his pace. The street wasn't busy, but then again, it never really was. Toddles scurried around on the side walk, parents standing by, just watching. The vulpine sighed, it was painful. It reminded him too much of his own parents, especially the day his mother had died.

--

"Bye mommy, I love you."

Vixy Reinard knelt down on front of her six year old son and wrapped her arms around him, "I love you too sweetie, I'll see you when I get home," she kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye to James before walking out the door. Fox's father lifted him up in his arms and waved. The small McCloud waved his paws energetically as his mother stepped into the car.

Everything went wrong after that.

As Vixy slid the key into the ignition, a worried look crossed her face. James set Fox down and began walking towards the car, but it was too late. The explosion took the small fox off his feet and slammed him up against the wall. He landed on the ground and wailed in pain as dust fell around him, getting in his eyes and face. He looked to the side and saw his father lying next to him, unmoving.

"Dad?" he whispered, "DAD!"

The larger fox still didn't move. Fox pushed himself up, whimpering as he hobbled out of the large hole that had been blown in the front of the house. Ann Rowan, a hawk that lived next door ran out and picked up the crying bundle of fur while her husband, Matt, ran inside to fetch James.

--

Fox was standing in the middle of his room now; he flopped down onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He turned his head to the side so his emerald green eyes were fixed on the picture next to his bed. It had been taken when he was fourteen, when he first learned how to fly. The vulpines father was there too, standing next to the Arwing.

"Happy birthday dad." Fox whispered and closed his eyes.

--

"General Bowman! General Bowman!"

Dash looked up from his chair, "What do you want Lieutenant?"

"Sir…" the wolf panted as he gathered his breath, "We're under attack!"

The ape stood up and walked towards the entrance of the hall, "Get my ship ready."

The lupine jogged forward and blocked the entrance, "No, you need to come with me. We have a carrier that will take you out of here safely."

"And what?" Dash snapped. "I'd rather die fighting for Venom than run away like a coward."

The wolf pulled out his comm. and contacted the hanger, "Prepare master Bowman's ship," he said into it and slid it back into his pocket, "As you wish, sir."

Dash sprinted down to the hanger and jumped into his ship. He jammed forward on the throttle and charged forward, taking out a few enemy ships with him.

"_Sir! You're here!"_

"_I though he was gone!"_

"Shut up!" Dash shouted, "Keep your eyes on the target."

"_Yes sir!" _

"_Understood!"_

The ape smiled menacingly and readjusted his grip on the throttle, "Let's do this."

Dash boosted himself into the battle, taking out a couple ships as he did so. He looked down and saw that a ground battle was going on as well. He took out a small group of three ships and continued on.

_This is too easy_; he thought to himself and took a few more ships out. The ape looked to the side and saw more ships entering the battle from the other side of the surface.

"More ships approaching from the north!" he said, "Daniels, Anderson, Morgan, you're with me."

"_Yes sir!" _

"_I'm on my way."_

Three different ships separated from the thick of the battle and joined Dash, easily blowing the stream of oncoming ships into nothing. He was about to go back when a bright orange beam of plasma shot up and sliced through one of the jets.

"_Demon Sniper!"_ someone shouted, _"Watch out!"_

Dash was about to fly out of the way, but he was too late, another bright stream of plasma knocked one of the wings off of the sleek jet. He tried flying away, but another bullet sliced through the hull, sending the plane tumbling towards the ground. Dash managed to gain control and glide to the ground. The remnants of the nose dug into the soft soil, nearly knocking the ape out of the cockpit.

Dash opened the glass and grabbed his M16 plasma rifle from under his seat and opened the glass. He waited for barley a moment and leaped out, running as fast as he could to a group of large boulders fifty meters away. He got down on his knees and rested the muzzle of the weapon on one of the rocks. He fired several times, killing several enemies.

"Hey! Bowman!"

Dash looked to the side and saw a coyote running towards him, his head ducked to avoid the bullets flying over him. He slid as he ducked under the boulder with the ape.

"Sir!" he shouted as dirt showered over them, "You need to come with me and get out of here safely!"

Dash fired again, "Fine!" he pulled his Blaster out of the holster behind his uniform, "Let's do this."

The coyote ran out from out of the cover of the rock, Dash following close behind him. He fired several times with the Blaster as they dashed quickly from rock to rock. Eventually, a large carrier ship came into view; Dash approached the side and jumped in.

"Orders Sir?" a tiger asked from the bridge.

He thought for a second, "For starters, get us off the surface and take us towards Corneria A-sap."

"Anything else?"

Dash considered the question as the ship lifted off the ground, "Starfox."

"Yes sir!"

The ape looked out the window and noticed a ship flying towards them.

"Who's side is that on?" he asked.

The tiger looked out the window, "I'm not sure, it's too far away to identify-"

The feline was cut short as the other carrier fired two bright green lasers that sliced clean through the ship. The impact threw Dash against the wall.

"What the…" he screamed, but it was too late. The ship hit the ground and burst into flames. Dash punched at the window, shattering the glass and hopped out. He began running when he felt an intense pressure build in on his chest. He looked down and saw red begin soaking his dark green shirt. The ape sunk onto his knees as more bullets dug into his back, spraying blood out as they exited through his front side. He fell face first into the mud as the pain finally settled in. He could survive if help found him soon enough, but the chances of that were slim and none. Dash closed his eyes as he felt his final breath slip out of his lungs.

--

"Captain… We've received a distress signal from Venom."

Falco Lombardi leaned forward in his chair, "Venom?"

"Yes sir, there was an attack, they signaled for Starfox, but the General Peppy sent it to us instead."

The avian smirked, "Good," he hadn't heard from McCloud for months, he didn't care though, he finally got the chance to lead his own team. When he had been on Starfox, Fox was the one that was always giving the orders, now it was his turn, "Let's get this thing off the ground and get this taken care of."

The pilot, a small lizard started the systems, "Of course, should I get Katt and Zach?"

"No." Falco stood up and stretched, "I will."

The falcon walked along the halls of the Great Fox. General Peppy had given the ship to the team as their carrier, on certain conditions of course and opened the door of Katt Monroe's room. The black and white feline was lying on her bed, asleep.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Falco said, "we're leaving."

She looked up, "Where to?"

"Venom, there's a bit of a… situation down there."

She stretched and flexed her claws, "Good, I've been bored to death here. Why didn't they just get McCloud to handle it?"

"He doesn't lead a team any more. Remember?"

"Oh… Right. Why don't you ask him to come as well? And Krystal?"

"Yeah right. He'll just try and take over the whole team then I'll end up where I was before I started Star Falco. And Krystal, do you know what would happen if she came face to face with McCloud again? Besides, she's a part of Star Wolf now."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you," he shot back.

Katt stood up and shouldered her way past Falco, "Whatever," she muttered as she headed back to the bridge.

The falcon sighed, he turned on his heels and walked further down the hall to Zach's room.

"Hey," the raccoon said blankly, "What's goin' on?"

"We're going to Venom; just want you to be ready when we arrive."

"Cool, I'll be right out."

Falco sat back down on the deck as the screen was static for a couple seconds then General Peppy's face flickered onto the screen.

"Captain," the old hair began, "We want you and your team to go and start gaining control of Venom again, Dash Bowman will help you."

Falco nodded, "Yeah."

"I have several fleets standing by here and Fox, if he's up for it."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, that's it?"

Peppy looked at his papers, "Yes," he paused and his face hardened, then was suddenly alarmed, "Oh no."

"What is it?" Katt asked.

"Dash Bowman…. Has just been confirmed dead."

--

"Do you understand your assignment, Kursed?"

The blue vixen placed a paw on her table and tapped her claws on it, a large bulldog stood on the other side of the room, "Yeah."

"Good."

Kursed bared her fangs, "I suggest you leave now, you don't have to stay until I walk out of my own home."

It wasn't even a house; it was more of a shack. The dog nodded and backed out of the door. The vixen grabbed her Blaster and walked out, closing the door behind her. Kursed walked along the dusty streets of Kew. No stares were on her anymore, the planet was made for bounty hunters. Though her assignment wasn't on the surface of Kew this time, she was being sent to Venom.

She had a shallow knowledge of why, something about Dash Bowman. All she cared about was hoping she _wouldn't_ see Fox McCloud there. The vulpine had been so desperate to get back together with her, it was almost funny. After going to Starwolf, Kursed had left. Panther acted almost exactly like Fox, always fearing for her safety, plus the fact that the jungle cat was a major show-off.

She shook her head and began walking into the hanger on the outer edge of the city. The guard there, a large wolf stopped her.

"ID, please."

"You recognize me don't you?" she glared at the lupine.

"No ID, no entry."

Kursed lunged forward and pinned the man to the wall. One paw around his throat, the other holding the blaster to his head. Hopefully the wolf knew what she had done in the past to let her in and still keep his life.

"You know who I am," she snarled, "if you want to live, I recommend you let me in."

He swallowed, "You'll never get away with it."

Kursed wrapped a finger around the trigger, "If I never got away with it, I wouldn't even bee here would I?"

The wolf's breathing deepened, "Okay, okay, you can go in, just don't kill me, I have a family and young kids. I'll do anything."

The blue fox rolled her eyes, she thought about killing the man for a moment then let him go. The guard slouched against the wall, rubbing his throat while Kursed entered the hanger bay. She hopped into her Cloudrunner fighter which sat towards the back and closed the glass. She started the systems and grasped the dual sticks. She hovered out of the hanger slowly and then jammed the sticks forward. The engines reacted immediately, the fighter's G-Diffusers shoved Kursed down into her seat as she flew up out of the atmosphere of Kew.

--

1523 Hours 18 April 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), Corneria Air Force Base

"So… Dash is dead? How?"

General Peppy rubbed a paw down his face and over his short muzzle, "I don't know," he admitted, "they believe that everyone on board died."

Fox _Hm_'d to himself as he paced in front of the large desk. Papers and pens were scattered all over the surface. Standing on the corner was a picture James McCloud holding Fox as a child on his shoulders. The vulpine smiled for a brief second then turned to Peppy, "And you want me to go down there. I thought you had…" he stopped, grimacing, "_Star Falco_ over there. Why do you want me to go?"

The elderly hare began reading through one of the papers, "I want what's best for you, Fox, and there's a good pay in it for you."

The vulpine huffed, he didn't care about the money anymore. It was good to be paid when the team was still together, but he didn't need all the money anymore, he was alone. He would never see Krystal again. An image of the little blue vixen flashed through his mind, then Panther entered the scene. Fox gritted his teeth together and shook the image out and turned back to General Peppy.

"Fine, I'll go."

--

So. What do you think so far? Let me know if it's swinging around too much cause I'm getting the feeling that it is. Please R&R.


	2. Interference

A/N: Okay, some of you were saying I was bouncing a little too much so I'm gonna ease it up a little.

--

1236 19 April 2439 (Venomian Military Calendar), Venom Army Base

"Star… _Falco_? I thought it was Starfox."

The blue avian grinned smugly, "Not anymore. You're not gonna hear from McCloud anytime soon."

The lupine in front of the team looked down at the ape's body, a large black bag lay next to him. Dash's body was covered in bullet wounds. They had been cleaned and stitched together, but it was still easy to see through several of them.

Falco folded his arms across his chest and raised his sunglasses, "So… Are you going to give us an assignment?"

The lieutenant shook his head quickly, "Yes, I want you to start and go begin to take out any enemy hideouts, take it by sections. A little bit each day would be better."

The falcon chuckled, "I don't mean to offend you. But I like to take things out in one shot. The big bang." He raised his eyebrows.

"Falco," Katt whispered in his ear, "We don't know what we're up against. Maybe it is better if we do take the planet sections at a time."

He pushed her away, "You're not the one making the decisions here." He snapped, "We'll leave immediately."

"Thank you. Do you want us to send some troops with you?"

"Naw, we work alone."

"Very well. Go ahead, report back here when you are done and give us an update of what you accomplished."

Falco nodded then turned around, motioning to his team, "Let's go kick some butt."

Everyone followed back to the Great Fox which was landed on the surface. The main hatch unlocked, lowering the door for the team to enter. The engine howled to life as the old ROB64 started the systems. The huge carrier lifted off the ground and began floating back into orbit. The blue bird ran down to the hanger, the team following close behind as they hopped into the Arwings, while he took his Sky Claw.

ROB released the lift lock and launched the ships off. Falco slammed on the throttle and began scanning the surface of Venom. After several minutes of flying, Zach spoke.

"Hey, I think I see the base."

Falco looked ahead. Sure enough, there were several buildings and fighters sitting in front and below them.

"Alright!" he said, "Fly in low and take 'em out."

In unison, the fighters swooped in low and unleashed fire. The steel plasma easily destroyed the ships and the people in them. Falco unleashed a nova bomb that blew up the rest of the small base. The Arwings sharply turned to the side to avoid the fire and flying rocks.

"Well done," the avian said, "Let's keep going."

As the team carried on, they encountered another small base. Before the falcon could begin shooting, a bomb shot down, striking the hideout dead center. The jets stopped as the dirt flew into the dirt. A flash of silver and blue streaked down and turned sharply back up into the skies of Venom.

"That's one party you've got goin' on there. Sorry to crash it. But no one interferes with _my_ assignments."

Falco's jaw dropped, he narrowed his eyes and stared out the cockpit at the flash that was still flying into the blue. He knew that voice, he knew that ship. He blinked and felt his body run numb.

"_Krystal_?"

--

0345 hours 20 April, 2439 (Aquas Standard Calendar), Aquas Capital City, Residence of Slippy Toad

"_Slippy? Come in, Slippy Toad?"_

The frog jerked up in his bed and looked around. He looked at the table next to his bed, the clock read three forty-five.

"What is it honey?" Amanda asked from next to him.

Slippy yawned and picked up his comm. which was next to the clock, "I'm sure it's nothing." He stood up and began walking out of the room, "I'll be right back."

His wife lay back down, "Just don't be too long."

"Of course not."

The toad stepped out into the hall and opened the link. Fox McCloud's face flickered onto the screen.

"Hey, Slip. How'ya doing?"

"Fox? You realize it's four o'clock in the morning over here don't you?"

"Oh right. I'm sorry, It's almost four in the afternoon over here."

"So, this is a first. What do you want?"

"Peppy's sending me to Venom, wanna come?"

Slippy scratched his chin, "I- I don't know Fox, Amanda recently got pregnant. And besides, what use would I be? I can't fly and with Star Falco, you don't have the Great Fox and you'll have plenty of military mechanics."

"That's true, but you're the only one I trust to operate on my Arwing."

The frog sighed, "Can I talk to you tomorrow? I'm really not in the mood right now."

"Fine, but I need you to make you to make decision and fast. Peppy's growing impatient."

"Right."

The screen went black and Slippy slouched against the wall. Months after the Angler rebellion and Fox was choosing _now_ to invite him on a mission. He set his head against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking in the quiet darkness of the hall.

"Slippy, you must be freezing out there, come on. I'm not gonna fall asleep until you come back in here and tell me what's going on."

The frog stood and paced back into the room. Amanda was propped up on one elbow and looking at him, her eyes expectant.

"Sorry," he apologized as he pulled the sheet over them, "Fox… Fox wants me to go to Corneria and accompany him on a mission to Venom."

"Are you going to go?"

"I'm not sure yet, maybe, if I do, what'll you do about the kid?"

The pink frog laughed softly and pecked Slippy on the cheek, "I know you'll come back alive, go. I'll be fine."

"You must have a firm belief that I'm gonna come back. Okay, I'll tell him tomorrow."

Amanda rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, "Get some rest, you're gonna need it."

--

1854 Hours 22 April 2439, (Cornerian Military Calendar), Cornerian Air Force Base

The vulpine shielded his eyes as the giant carrier touched the ground. He knew who was on the ship, but he was still anticipating it greatly. Fox had been to Venom before. He had only been eighteen at the time, but even though he was returning for the second time now, he felt the same way.

The door opened and different people began trickling out. Fox scanned the crowd and picked out a green frog. He waved his paw and called, "Slippy!"

The toad looked up and saw Fox, he smiled and quickened his pace until he was standing in front of the vulpine.

"Hey Fox," Slippy said.

He clapped the frog on the back and began walking in the other direction, "So… How've things's been."

"Fine, I haven't heard anything about what happened on Venom though. Is Dash really dead?"

Fox nodded, "We're just gonna go meet up with Falco and his team to help them out."

Slippy chuckled, "I don't think he's gonna be too happy about that."

"Falco can think whatever he wants. We're gonna show up and he's not gonna be able to do anything about it."

Slippy turned to him, "Are you sure about this?"

"About what?"

"This whole going to Venom. Don't'cha think that it may be a bad idea."

"Why?"

"It seems like Falco's got the whole thing taken care of. So… what's the point?"

"Falco? Pshaw, I wouldn't worry about him too much. Besides, I might be able to bring the team back together."

The toad pulled away from Fox, "So that's what this is all about, huh? Bringing the team back together so you can take all the glory again?"

The vulpine backed up a little, "No, of course not. Don't you miss it though, being on the Great Fox together? During missions, how Falco would be all bitter and Krystal would give him crap? Don't you want it back?"

Slippy seemed to think for a second, "As a matter of fact. No."

Fox narrowed his eyes, "What?"

"No. I'm not doing this, Fox. You're just being selfish. You know it too. Admit it, you don't care for us. Not even Krystal."

Fox took a step forward, "Slippy-"

The toad shook his head, "I'm sorry Fox, but I can't do this." He spun around and walked back into the ship. Fox stared after him, his jaw dropped and he fumbled around his face to close it. Had Slippy just stood up for himself? The vulpine banged on his head a few times, hoping he would wake up in his bed at home. With no luck, the fox could just watch as the ship lifted off the ground and took off into the clear blue sky.

"Fox?"

He spun around and saw General Peppy walking towards him, "Oh, hey."

"Where's Slippy?"

The vulpine looked towards the sky, the ship was gone and not coming back, just like everything else, "He… Left."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Are you sure he's not gonna come back?"

"Pretty darn."

"All right, well, we're getting ready to take off, you should go."

"Fine."

Fox began walking towards the other carrier that was waiting. He walked aboard and looked at the radars. He felt himself half-expecting a small ship to appear.

"What's wrong with me?" he whispered to himself.

--

"But dad, why can't I come with you?"

James sat down next to his son, "I'm sorry son, but I've got no choice. Besides, Peppy will be here with you while I'm gone."

The small vulpine pouted, "But there's nothing to do here without you. And besides," Fox looked around to see if there was anyone else in the room, "Peppy's _boring._"

James looked down, smiling, "Don't say that. Peppy deserves a lot of respect. He's been through a lot more than Pigma and I have experienced together."

"But-"

"No, Fox. How 'bout this? When I get back, I'll take you for a ride in my Arwing."

The little vulpines eyes brightened, "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Fox hopped off the bed, "I'll see you soon."

James picked his son up so he was heaved over his father's shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down!"

The larger fox put him down, "Okay, behave yourself and I'll be back before you know it."

Fox hugged his dad's leg, "I'll miss you dad."

"I'll miss you too, son. I love you."

"I love you too."

--

Fox was jerked back to the real world to hear the drone of the engines.

"Captain, are you okay?"

The vulpine looked down and saw the pilot sitting in the seat next to him, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just get this thing off the ground."

"Yes sir."

--

0845 Hours 23 April 2439 (Kew Military Calendar) Skies above Venom

The blue vixen jerked awake to find herself still inside the cockpit of the Cloudrunner fighter. She looked around, she was still in orbit above Venom. Kursed stretched, sighing as the bones were restored to their rightful places and looked around. Recalling what had happened the day before. She had known that the pilot she had directed he comments to was none other than Falco Lombardi. He had known it was her was well. Had Fox brought the team back together and left her out. But she hadn't sensed McCloud or Slippy either, the other thought patterns were unfamiliar to her.

The blue fox made sure that her Mark II Plasma Beam Sniper rifle and blaster were under the seat before she took the ship out of stealth and began her flight towards the surface of Venom. Kursed landed in an open dirt field and scanned the premises and confirming to herself that she was alone and climbing out, holding the blaster in one paw, the other held a knife.

The small vixen tucked the blade into her boot and holstered the blaster as she quickened her pace to a jog. She moved silently across the land, she could sense an enemy patrol up ahead, but she only ran faster, eager for some fighting, she wanted blood. Now.

As she got closer, Kursed pulled out her blaster and unleashed a savage battle cry. The patrolling men spun around but the blue vixen had already leaped into the small crowd and fired once, killing one of the three men. She pulled the knife out and jabbed out, stabbing one in the ribs, growling in satisfaction as she felt the bone splinter beneath the force she carried. The man dropped and Kursed swung out again, cutting the last though the stomach. The fox returned the weapons to their places and continued back to her ship, leaving the remnants of the patrol moaning and dying behind her.

Kursed climbed back into her fighter and leaned back, tapping the armrests of the seat with her sharp claws. She was a Cerinian warrior, she was trained to be fast, and she had been. Her speed never failed her in battles. Never.

The blue fox started the engines and took off again, each of her six senses alert for any signs of her enemy. She slammed the throttle and eventually his super-sonic.

Kursed wasn't paying attention any more. She was tired of taking out the small bases, she wanted to find the main one, if there was any, and soon. She was about to slow down when a neon green laser struck the wing of her Cloudrunner and knocked her spinning and tumbling towards the ground. Scrambling around in a panic, she grabbed her sniper and made sure she had her blaster and knife before ejecting out of the cab of the fighter. The seat shot out and Kursed clutched her rifle close to her chest as the Cloudrunner broke into a series of explosions underneath her. The small fox waited, but she had no altimeter. She waited several more seconds and pulled the ripcord, she didn't want to deploy to high, then her parachute would be shot at and then she would die. The strings and fabric rolled out of the pack and immediately unfurled. The parachute slowed her fall for a few short seconds before landing on the ground.

Kursed swiftly unbuckled herself from the seat and began to run. Before she got far, something sharp dug into her shoulder, not a bullet, because it stayed in her hide rather than exit out the front. She stopped and sunk to her knees, but the devastating blow top her head sent her spinning in a 180 degree roll as she landed on her stomach.

A voice spoke in her ear, laughing quietly and menacingly, "Wheh-eh-hell, what have we here?"

--

Several Hours Later: Venom

"Sir?"

The wolverine looked up from the papers he was reading though, "Yes?" his voice was deep and scratchy, his vocal chords had been damaged in battle, leaving his voice permanently hoarse.

The wolf began walking to the desk. The room was dark except for the dim light supplied by the small lamp. He suppressed a shiver and began to speak.

"At nine-hundred hours this morning. We encountered an unfamiliar fighter. We took it out, and the pilot, she is unconscious, yet alive and is in the holding chambers for now, until she wakes up, and then we will interrogate her." The lupine saluted.

The man behind the desk nodded, "Do we know where the pilot is from?"

"Negative sir, there were no markings on her ship, neither on her clothing."

"Was she armed?"

"Yes sir," the wolf placed several weapons on the desk, "A standard blaster, a knife, and a Mark II Plasma Beam Sniper Rifle."

The wolverine took the knife up and handled it between his fingers, it was long and sharp, eerie looking in the dim light. He set it down silently and did the same with the two guns.

"Good enough, I suppose, see if you can figure out where she's from and what her business is here when she wakes up."

"Yes sir."

The wolverine stood up and waited for the wolf to leave the room the followed, turning in the opposite direction down the halls. Soldiers scooted out of his way more out of fear than respect. He was a dangerous man. He turned and faced a long row of cells. He began walking down them, looking into each. A tabby feline. A small green lizard. A blue falcon.

Then he found his target. A small blue vixen laying in the center of her cell. She was lying on her stomach, there was a bandage on her shoulder where the wolverine assumed the dart had truck her. The fox's head was turned to the side and her mouth was slightly open. His eyes trailed over her curvaceous body and elegant blue fur.

Blue. He never expected that color fur on any animal. This one was special. The wolverine began forming a new plan, if this blue vixen was different in any sort of way, he could use her to his advantage. The wolverine turned away and began back down the hall.

It was Venom's time to rise.

--

Yeah, I know it's not the best ending to a chapter, but I actually got it posted on time. AND THIS WAS NOT RUSHED!! It may seem like it because I wrote from the flashback to the end in a few hours. Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming.

I actually posted this chapter on time too. Yay! I promised WhiteWolves I would have it up today and I do.


	3. Take me Away

A/N: So far, so good, eh? My goal is to update at least once a week starting now. Not just this story, all of them, which means Return one week, Amends another, with Outcast here and there. But these two are my main priority right now. I'm also surprised how no one mentioned the clue I dropped at the end of the last chapter. No, not about Kursed, that's what some people thought, but as far as I'm concerned, I only said that the wolverine wanted to use her, no one seemed to notice anything about… a blue falcon?

--

1453 Hours, 25 April, 2439. (Cornerian Military Calendar). _Starscream _Hanger Bay, Skies above Venom.

"Are you ready to deploy, Captain McCloud?"

The orange vulpine grabbed the dual sticks of his Arwing II, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Right," the holographic image of the raccoon began to fade, leaving nothing but a voice, "Release the lift lock. Captain?"

"Yes?"

"You are clear for launch."

Fox growled in satisfaction as the engines of the fighter howled to life. He jammed the dual sticks forward and flew out over the surface of the planet. Unfortunately for the vulpine, the place brought back too many memories of when he had first arrived there so many years ago.

"Was it really you dad?" the fox asked himself, "Guiding me out of Andross's base? Or had I just been hallucinating?"

He shoved the questions out of his mind and scanned the area, the Great Fox wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Did you get rid of that as well Falco?" the fox chuckled dryly, "Just like you did everything else? Or are you just hiding from me?"

McCloud shoved on the throttle again and banked to the right as a bright gold laser flew past him. The vulpine rolled his finger over the trigger and waited for more. When it did, Fox rolled to the side quickly again and unleashed a stream of green plasma, at whatever was firing at him. He looked down at the radar and saw no ships approaching.

"D-mn stealth," the fox growled and fired again, there were several explosions and the ships appeared as they tumbled to the ground.

"Hey that was mine!"

Fox's head jerked up at the high squeaky voice, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Wow, you don't recognize me, Fox?"

He huffed and put his nose up into the air, "Well I know you're not Krystal that's for sure."

"You were always a bad liar McCloud, now say it," the voice was demanding.

"Nope."

"Say it."

"Fine!" the vulpine shouted, "Nice kill… Katt," he grumbled the last word out of the corner of his mouth.

"That's a good Foxy," the feline cooed, there was a pause and her voice dropped to a more serious tone, "Wait, what are you doing here anyway? We've got it all taken care of already."

Fox rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you do. Where's Falco? I wanna see him."

"Oh…" there was a tension between the communication lines. Was he dead? Why was Katt so reluctant to answer?

"Uh… He was captured several days ago. He got too cocky and his ship was shot down."

Fox held back laughter, "Why am I not surprised?" he stuck his tongue into his cheek, it was just like the falcon to so something like that, "Then how do you know he's alive when his ship was shot down rather than killed in the explosion?"

"We saw him eject, but none of us could get to him on time."

"None of who?"

"The team dumb a-s. Zach, Harrison and me."

McCloud flew in a slow one-eighty degree turn around the feline's Arwing, "Anything else you want to tell me, Katt?"

The feline spun the fighter around, "Why would there be anything else I want to tell you?"

"Oh stop it. Don't think you're a good liar and I'm not," the fox charged a plasma laser and locked onto the other Arwing, "Come on, spit whatever it is you have to tell me now and no one will get hurt. You think I don't have the guts?" he tilted the nose of the ship up a small amount and fired. The red ball flew over the glass of Katt's fighter. She squealed in fright and took the ship down a few yards.

"Don't do that!" she piped.

"Try me," Fox charged another laser.

"All right!" the cat's voice went up a whole octave. The vulpine closed one eye and cringed, her voice ringing in his ears, "We… we think Krystal is here as well."

"What?" the fox released the trigger and Katt screeched again as she lowered the arwing even more as the charge sailed over her.

"Stop doing that!" she squealed, "I just said that Krystal might be here!"

McCloud narrowed his eyes, "Well _sorry_. Forgive me for not giving you the reaction you wanted. Do you know what this means?"

"No. What would it have to do with me anyway?"

Fox slammed his head into his paw, "Yeah but that's not the point!" he snapped, "If she sees me here, I'm dead meat."

"Yeah, well, I'm dead meat just sitting here talking to you. I'm surprised we're still alive. Let's go back to the Great Fox and talk more there," Katt spun around and began flying in the other direction. The vulpine followed the other fighter up into the atmosphere where a huge grey ship sat in orbit above Venom.

"Well. Looks like you haven't changed the ship much," the fox observed.

"Great job captain obvious," Katt said, unimpressed, "Now get in before you give our position away."

Fox flew into the hangar bay, the other Arwing next to him as he jumped out. There were two other Arwings, but Falco's Sky Claw was nowhere to be seen.

Katt was already walking to the bridge, "Hey Foxy, you gonna stand there all day and wait for the enemy to kill themselves or are you coming in?"

Fox turned and kept following her, "Will you stop calling me that? You're just like Falco."

The black and white feline held her left paw up to show a glistening ring on her fourth finger, "That good enough for you? You should have done the same for Krystal while you still had the chance. She's probably engaged to Caroso."

"Thanks Katt, you make me feel so much better. Are you joking? If she were engaged to Panther, there would be a lesser chance of her being here. Which is highly unlikely."

"Whatever, just come on, we're wasting time."

McCloud followed the feline into the bridge and took a good look around. Falco hadn't changed the place up much, as a matter of fact, it hadn't changed much at all. Katt lounged back into one of the chairs and called to a small brown lizard in the front, "Hey, get the general on the line."

"Yeah." The reptile set to work and the black and white feline signaled to a seat but Fox shook his head, "I'd rather not."

"Your loss," she muttered and swung the chair back around towards the screen. The screen flickered on and General Peppy's familiar face became visible.

"Katt. Good to see you and… Fox! You did make it."

The vulpine shrugged, "Yeah, and I'm beginning to regret it," he added under his breath."

"Good, very good. Where's Falco?"

Fox looked at the cat and smirked, she looked down and sighed, "I'm sorry, general, he was captured."

"Don't apologize to me. You'll have to wait until you get him back."

Katt's eyes widened, "Wait, you want _us _to go get him?" her voice was rising to a squeak, she glared at the fox and looked back to the hare, "I'd rather cough up a hairball than work with McCloud here."

"Well, would you risk the death of your leader just because you don't want to work with Fox?"

The feline looked at him, "No, I suppose not. Tristan, go get Zach," she grinned, showing her sharp teeth as she looked to Fox, "Looks like we've got some work to do."

--

Unknown

The blue vixen's eyes fluttered and opened up. The first thing she could hear was her own heavy breathing. Something wasn't right; it was still dark as her sight cleared.

"What's going on," she growled.

Her question was answered as the cloth was ripped off her eyes, she flinched as a bright white light attacked, wreaking havoc in her retinas.

"Well, the sleeping princess finally wakes up."

Kursed adjusted to the brightness and looked around. At first, nothing was visible from the light but then a figure stepped in front of it. She looked over it and tried to stand, but her paws were held by something clasped behind her, leaving her completely open for any attack, "I said, what' going on," she lowered her voice to a deeper snarl.

That was a mistake, something hard and blunt was driven into the vixen's stomach, knocking the breath out of her. She coughed and brought herself up. "Who are you?"

She immediately regretted speaking again as there was a flash of grey and a fist slammed against the side of her head. It snapped to the side and she could soon feel blood soaking into her fur. As the shadows cleared more, all she could see was that she had been struck with _her_ sniper rifle. She dropped her head, "What do you want from me?"

Something sharp began tracing along her dark blue arm, pressing into the hide, but not enough to cut through it. It found its target, right at her throat, lifting her neck up. Kursed lifted her head and turned it to the side with the direction of the object, and now looked directly into the light above her, with a knife at her neck.

"What's your name?"

The vixen blinked against the light, "Kursed, what's it to you?"

The knife pushed harder, still not cutting, but enough to tighten her throat, and make breathing harder.

"_Kursed_? What kind of a name is that?"

The fox bared her fangs, "It's_ my _name, you got a problem with that?"

The blade pressed even harder, "Where are you from?"

She knew what they wanted from her, she tapped into his mind, they knew she was different, so she left out a few details, "I'm from Kew, I work as a bounty hunter there."

"Is that all you want to tell me?"

Kursed tightened the muscles in her legs, realizing that they were strapped to the chair as well, "Yes, why do you care anyway?"

"I suggest you answer the question," the blue fox could tell the man was losing his patience.

"Why?!" she scoffed, "So you can kill me in the end. Why don't you just do it now?"

"I wouldn't mind doing that. Or I could make it more entertaining for me by simply slitting your throat and watch you slither around the floor like a worm. That would be quite a show for me and my men here," the blue vixen's head dropped as the knife was jerked away, "At least… I _would _kill you, but I have orders."

Kursed laughed, "Come on, are you seriously gonna be a f-ck up to your leader. You can branch out, you know you wanna, I won't stop you. Or you can just be a coward and leave me here. Then you can go to h-ll."

"What was that?"

"Go to h-ll."

"Wow, that's brave for the hostage in the situation."

The light was pulled away and the fox was able to see her interrogators were. An orange tabby feline was holding the knife in his paw. As she looked closer, she could see that it was her own. The man holding her rifle was a black hawk. His red eyes stared into hers like the knife, only much sharper and deadlier.

"She's not gonna say anything," the bird said, "Maybe we should just deal with her right now. We can just say that we accidentally beat on her too much."

Kursed grinned, "Looks like your partner here has the right idea."

The cat's tail lashed back and forth, "My _partner _here knows nothing. Now answer my question."

The blue vixen shrugged, "That could be difficult, you've asked me a lot of questions. Maybe you should tell me which one."

"The one about where you're from."

"Didn't I already tell you? I'm a bounty hunter from Kew."

"And I know that what you're telling me is not completely true."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Maybe I am!?"

Then it was all a blur.

As the hawk raised the sniper to strike her, the door to the room exploded. The metal struck the feline in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. The bird spun around but he was struck down from what the vixen recognized as a standard M12 Plasma Machine Gun.

"Falco?!" a high pitched female voice echoed through the room.

"No, but you could do me a little bit of help by getting me out of here."

"Who are you?"

"Get me out of here and I'll tell you."

"Fine," a black and white feline stepped forward and dug a pair of keys out of the other cats pocket and unlocked the handcuffs, "Now will you tell me who you are?"

She sighed, "My name is Kursed, I'm a bounty hunter from Kew."

"No… I know you, I've seen you before."

The vixen grabbed her knife and sniper, "No, I don't think so."

"Whatever, let's go. We need to get out of here."

"Good observation," Kursed said sarcastically, "You lead the way, I don't know the place."

"Yeah, I'm on it," the feline replied and jogged out of the room, the blue fox following close behind. As they got to the hanger, she sprinted ahead and jumped into a Venomian fighter and prepared to take off. The black and white cat ran up to the jet and put her paws on her hips, obviously upset.

"Hey! I just probably saved your life and you jump into an enemy fighter and get ready to leave. A simple thank you would suffice."

Kursed looked out the glass, "Uh… Yeah, I would, but I work alone."

The cat opened her mouth but the engines of the plane flared to life and the vixen took off into the atmosphere.

Katt groaned and ran to her Arwing, "It's not like it matters," she muttered, "She wouldn't be any help anyway."

She sat in the cockpit of her Arwing and waited. There was a heavy slam as the doors to the hangar were opened and closed. She looked out of the cab of the fighter and gasped. Falco and Fox were entering the hanger, though the falcon didn't look very happy to have McCloud with him.

"Who let McCloud come?" he yelled.

Katt leapt out of the Arwing and jumped on Falco, he grunted and laughed softly as he returned the hug.

"You haven't changed a bit," the vulpine muttered from the side, "Come on, you can have your little love fest on the Great Fox."

"Yeah, yeah," the avian climbed into the feline's fighter, "Let's go, Foxy here and I need to have a little talk."

Fox rolled his eyes, "Sure," he climbed into his own fighter and took off.

Falco looked to Katt, "Seriously?"

She shook her head, "It wasn't my decision okay."

"Whatever. Get in here, I'm not to happy about this."

"Trust me," Katt climbed in, "Neither am I… Neither… am… I."


	4. Discovery

**Author's Note: **Yessness!!!!!!! I can write again!!!!

**1854 Hours, 30 April, 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), Great Fox Hanger Bay.**

Fox slouched down further into the seat in the cockpit of the Arwing and sighed. Days on the Great Fox had gradually gotten better, thought it was still easy to tell that Falco was still tedious about having him back, Katt, well, Katt was Katt, always on the avian's side, sometimes literally as well.

"Fox?"

The vulpine looked around to see who was there, he found the black and white feline crouched next to his Arwing, "Are you alright Fox?"

He turned his head away, "What do you want Katt?"

She sat cross-legged now, "You've been in here ever since we got back from the previous mission today. And that was three hours ago. Are you sure there's nothing on your mind?"

"I'm positive. And why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?" McCloud raised an eyebrow at her.

"I was just coming to let you know that we have some leftover food from dinner, if you want to, you can come eat it, before Harrison gets to it."

Fox raised the other eyebrow, "Whose idea was it to tell me after you were done rather when it was actually ready, Falco?"

She leaned forward, "Stop being so bitter, Fox. Falco's doing what he can to make sure that he doesn't seem on the aggressive side towards you. Maybe you should do the same for him."

He looked back out the front of the cab of the Arwing, "Get out of here, Katt. I'll come out when I'm ready."

The feline stood, and he could hear her sigh loudly, "Okay Fox. But think about what I've said, please. It'll make things go a lot smoother than what they already have been like."

The vulpine wrinkled his nose.

While Katt walked out of the hanger Fox started the engines of the fighter.

"_Fox, I know that's you, what do you think you're doing."_

He didn't care who had said it, though it had defiantly not come from the Great Fox as the voice was not Falco's or Katt's. The vulpine grabbed the dual sticks.

"_Fox, it's better for your life if you stay in that hangar,"_ the voice was starting to clear. It was female, and it was heavily accented.

He shoved the levers forward. As soon as he exited the ship, a neon blue laser hit the wing of the jet, sending McCloud towards the surface of Venom.

"_I told you not to silly boy."_

"Who are you!" Fox yelled, scrambling around for the eject button. He jammed his thumb into it and shot up into the sky. Underneath him sat a Venomian fighter in idle, like it was waiting for him.

"_Unbuckle yourself,"_ the voice said into his headset, _"I've had enough. I'll catch you."_

Fox grabbed the ripcord, "Yeah! How am I supposed to believe you!?"

"_Just do it," _she was getting frustrated.

Fox yelled in frustration and undid the buckles holding his to the seat. He pulled his feet underneath him and kicked himself away from the seat.

_Skydiving without a parachute, _he thought grimly as the wind rushed past him. He angled his body until he was headed towards the jet, _Yeah, that's safe._

The silver fighter dropped with him and the vulpine grabbed the fuselage and pulled his legs under him so his feet were planted on the wing. The jet stopped and began flying upwards again. The fox dug his boots into a groove on the wing and lowered his head, pressing his ears against his head as the air rushed past him.

"Okay, now will you tell me who you are?" he asked. Fox peered into the glass, but it was mirrored and he was unable to see the pilot. He huffed, the pilot hadn't responded yet.

"_It doesn't matter who I am,"_ she finally said curtly, _"You'll find out soon enough."_

The vulpine groaned, "That doesn't help you know. Why don't you just tell me now?"

"_Because you'd probably jump off the wing of my fighter. Now shut up. This conversation is over."_

He tightened his jaw and blinked, "How can you be so sure?"

"_This conversation is _over_, Fox McCloud."_

The fox sighed as the fighter began to land in an open field, "Why here?" he asked.

The glass opened but Fox had already jumped off the wing and started walking around in attempt to warm his chilled muscles. He started to turn around, but she stopped him.

"Don't turn around yet."

The vulpine folded his arms across his chest, "I don't care. I'm gonna find out who you are and I'm gonna do it-" He spun around but there was a dull thud in the back of his head and he was left in darkness.

--

The door from the hanger in the Great Fox burst open and Katt ran onto the bridge, "Fox is gone!" she cried.

Falco spun around in his chair, "What? How come we never found out?"

The feline gasped for air, "I went to go and see how he was not long ago, but I just went back to check on him and he was gone. His Arwing isn't showing up on radar either."

The avian stood and looked at the radar on the control deck, sure enough, he could not see the small dot signifying McCloud's aircraft.

"Maybe he's out of range," Falco suggested.

"Yeah right," Katt put her paws on her hips, "This thing's radar stretches out over thirty miles, we would be able to see him. I think he's crashed."

The falcon stood spun around and began walking to the armory, "What are we sitting around here for? Let's go find McCloud."

--

"Ouch… Where am I?"

Kursed leaned against the wall and waited as Fox McCloud slowly woke in the cockpit of her stolen fighter. She leaped up onto the wing of the stolen fighter as he opened his eyes. The vulpine's green eyes slid to meet her teal ones.

"Who are you?" he snarled. The fox reached for his blaster, but found that his holster was empty.

The vixen wagged the gun in front of his face. The fox snatched for it but she jerked it away. McCloud bared his teeth at her and the blue fox did as well.

Fox balled his paw into a fist and swung his arm around out of the cockpit. There was a slight _crack_ as it met Kursed's muzzle and she fell back off the wing, landing on the ground with a loud grunt.

The vulpine stood, he didn't care that this strange assailant was female. He felt the sudden need to kill.

The little blue vixen stood, she spat on the ground, soon realizing that a tooth went with it. She pulled her lips back, "Why you little…" she growled and jumped up. McCloud stepped down and grabbed the wing of the Venomian fighter. He swung his body forward, his boots making solid contact with Kursed's stomach. She gagged and fell back. Fox let go and landed heavily next to her.

Kursed slowly stood. She could feel the red vulpine's anger pulsing off him heavily. A single thought suddenly ran through his mind.

"_Krystal."_

"Krystal?"

"No," she bared her fangs again, feeling with her tongue where her tooth was now missing.

He stepped closer to her, "Krys… what happened to you?"

The vixen took a step back, "I'm not Krystal," she snarled again.

"Krystal…" Fox trailed off. He reached out to stroke her cheek, "What have I done to you?"

Kursed snapped, "Don't waste my time with flattery Fox! It's your fault I ended up here in the first place!"

"I was only trying to protect you!"

"No you weren't!" she almost whimpered, "You never loved me! Neither did Panther!"

"Listen to me!!" McCloud barked, baring his fangs, "I only did what I did to protect you! So I could live my life knowing that you were alive and safe! Not risking your life for me and Corneria! I don't know what I would have done if you were killed."

The blue vixen snorted, "You know that's what I _wanted _though!"

"I only wanted what was best for you!"

"That was best for me! Don't you get it!? I _wanted_ to spend my life by your side! Even if it did mean risking my life for Corneria… And you!! That, is how I wanted to spend my life. Not with Panther, but I had no other choice!"

Fox dug his boot into the Venomian soil and kicked upward, showering Kursed with the dirt and began walking away, "Fine, I hope you're happy with your new life."

"You'll never make amends with me, Fox McCloud!!" she shouted after him.

He turned to face her, "That was never my intention!!!"

Kursed read he thoughts, "Yes it was Fox!!"

The vulpine waved his hand dismissively and continued walking.

--

"Do you see McCloud yet?"

"_Nope."_

"Okay. I've got a lot of large energy readings on radar. Be ready."

--

Fox paused in the middle of the dirt field. He immediately regretted leaving. He was tired, thirsty. And even for the setting sun, he was burning in his flight suit. The vulpine felt himself begin so shiver. He reached up and began to button his collar but stopped himself. He was beginning to overheat. The fox knelt down and began to dig.

After almost fifteen minutes, McCloud paw slipped into a hole. He wiped the sweat form his face and peered down, the tunnel was pitch black.

"_Could it be?"_ Fox continued digging around until the hole was big enough for an Arwing to fit through.

The vulpine pulled out his PDA and scanned the tunnel.

"_Analyzing Results…_

_Former entrance to the Androssian base…_

_Currently uninhabited." _

The fox _hmphed _to himself and sat in the little shade that the hole provided. He could almost hear the ghostly laugh of the mad scientist who had killed his father so many years ago.

--

"_I see him!!!"_

"Great, let's get down there."

The four Arwings landed and Falco jumped out of the cockpit to run to Fox, who had fallen asleep in the shade of a large hole.

The avian sprinted forward, skidding to a halt when he realized that he was standing before a large tunnel that led into the ground.

Lombardi walked around and knelt by Fox's side, shaking his shoulder, "Fox?"

The vulpine did not respond.

The falcon slapped his muzzle a few times, "Fox, you awake buddy?"

McCloud still didn't stir.

Falco lifted the fox over his shoulder and ran back to his Arwing. He set fox in before squeezing himself in and taking off immediately.

"_What's wrong?"_ Katt asked.

"Fox is unconscious, probably overheated. We'll get back to the Great Fox cool him down and he'll be fine."

The avian pulled into the hangar and opened the cab of the fighter. He picked Fox up again and ran to the bridge where he pulled the vulpine's flight suit off and lay him on the couch then hurried to blast the air conditioning.

--

**0854 Hours, 31 April, 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), Great Fox Main Bridge.**

Fox McCloud's vision blurred in and out. Soon his eyes fluttered open. The first thing he could hear was a fan blowing quietly nearby, soon his own breathing.

"_How long have I been out?"_ he wondered.

The vulpine slowly pushed himself up, soon feeling the cold air on his still sweat dampened back. He sighed happily and let his head drop. As he did Fox realized he had been stripped down into nothing but his boxers. He looked around frantically and noticed his clothes lain neatly on the back of a chair. He quickly pulled them on and padded into the kitchen.

Fox grabbed a small glass from a cupboard and filled it up with water. He took a small sip, soon gulping down the rest and filling it up again when he realized how thirsty he had been, then a third.

"Whoa, take it easy McCloud, we don't have an unlimited water supply you know."

The fox froze and swallowed. He wiped his muzzle and spun around to see Falco standing at the entrance of the hall that led to the rec room. Beads of sweat clung to his thick blue feathers as if he had just been working out.

"You don't know what it feels like to wake up after major heat exhaustion," Fox fired back humorously.

The avian only shook his head and returned down the hall. The vulpine filled his glass again and took a long gulp before running to the armory. He grabbed a Blaster and a Mark II Plasma Beam Sniper Rifle, along with a few grenades. The fox shoved a plasma battery into the sniper and grabbed two extras.

Fox ran down to the hangar bay and jumped into an Arwing. He needed to find Krystal.


	5. Remember Me?

**0945 Hours, 31 April, 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), Venom, Lylat System.**

Fox gradually pushed forward on the throttle of the Arwing. The G-Diffusers of the Arwing pushed him back into the seat as he flew over Venom. The red fox did not take his eyes off of the radar. Soon, a small white dot entered the small screen. McCloud smiled and pulled the trigger back. Several streams of green plasma shot from the fighter and towards the Venomian fighter that he knew Krystal had stolen.

She saw it coming, the fighter rolled and banked left to avoid it.

"_Oh… You're back,"_ she laughed darkly, _"Couldn't get enough?"_

Fox looked down, the two fighters were hovering directly above the tunnel that he had dug out the day before, "How 'bout a race?"

"_A race?"_

"Yeah, down that tunnel, I win, you come back to the Great Fox with me."

She seemed to take interest, "And if I win?"

"I'll leave you alone, won't get in your way anymore."

Krystal charged a laser and let in disintegrate, "And the rules?"

McCloud grinned and squeezed the trigger before diving down, "There are none."

He heard Krystal's fighter trailing him immediately. Fox came to the first split in the tunnel and turned sharply to the right, knowing whichever way he went, he would end up where he had battled Andross over a decade before.

Fox continued following the path until he could see the opening in the tunnel. He pushed the throttle what little more it could go. The Venomian fighter pulled up right next to him, but she misjudged it. Right before breaking into the large chamber, Krystal's wing scraped against the wall. The wing tore off like tissue paper, the metal screaming as it ripped. She lost control and the jet banged against the walls until it caught fighter and tumbled down.

"FFFOOOOOOOOXXXX!!" She screamed.

The red fox almost considered letting her fall, after what she had done to him, but something clicked in his head, forcing him to dive down and catch the burning remains on the nose of his fighter. With great effort, the Arwing was able to make it up back to the entrance of the tunnel.

He hovered in the middle of the tunnel, at a flat stretch and dipped the nose, dumping the wreckage on the metal _floor_ with a cry of metal grating and crunching of advanced electronics. Fox landed the Arwing and jumped out. He reached his paw into the burning wreckage, ignoring the painful waves that passed through his body as his jumpsuit and fur burned away. He found Krystal's arm and hoisted her out with great effort. The little blue vixen's head dropped back limply as she was pulled away, burns covered her face and body and most of her clothing hung about her limply in shredded remains.

"Come on Krystal," Fox grunted, "Work with me here!" he finally got her boots out of the fighter. He dropped her on the rusting metal floor and put his paw on her neck, checking for her pulse.

He slung the small vixen over his shoulder and set her in the cockpit of the Arwing before squeezing in himself.

He flipped open a channel with the Great Fox and a holographic image of Falco slowly materialized in front of him

"Fox!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

"I found Krystal," he explained briefly, "I'm bringing to her to the Great Fox. She crashed."

His former wing mate's eyes drifted to the side and then back to him, "How did you find out she was here?"

"Well… Actually, Katt told me when I first arrived, and then she found me… You know, before I went _missing_."

"Oh yeah," Falco smiled, "I don't hear anything? Is she okay?"

"She just _crashed_, Falco, she's unconscious, you above all people should know that."

"Okay, I get it. I get it. Bring her up here and we'll see what we can do."

_**X**_

**1245 Hours, 31 April, 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), Great Fox Medical Bay, Venom, Lylat System.**

"Will she be okay Falco?"

"She'll be fine. It's just a matter of when will she wake up."

Fox sighed. Krystal was now lying on a cot in front of Falco and himself in the Great Fox Medical Bay. Working together, the former wing mates also received the opportunity to reconcile about what had happened on the past. The vulpine slipped into one of the chairs and hid his face in his paws.

Falco snuffed, "So you still had feelings for her didn't you?"

The red fur smiled barely, "Yeah. I don't know what happened… I- I just wanted to protect her."

He felt the falcon's wing on his shoulder, "Maybe you should think of what she _wants_ rather than what _you_ believe is best for her."

The fox's breath stopped short, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Could you… Leave me alone for a few minutes? I… I wanna apologize."

"While she's asleep?" the avian asked, "I would wait until she wakes up."

"Falco," Fox began to get irritated.

"Got it," Lombardi turned and exited the medical bay.

McCloud scooted his chair forward and leaned towards the sleeping vixen, resting his paw on hers.

"I had another chance… And I blew it. Krystal… I'm… Sorry. I'm sorry that it has to end this way. But I want you back…" he closed his eyes and a silvery tear dropped off of his face and onto his lap, "I want you to be a part of me again. I understand if you feel betrayed by me and you probably won't want to be around me and if you even hate me. But I really need your help. And I hope you know that I'm sorry for all that happened and if you come back… I won't let anything like that ever happen again. That was wrong of me. I should have known that you could-"

"Who are you?"

Fox's eyes snapped open, "What?" he blinked and found that Krystal's eyes had opened, "Oh…" he jerked his paw away, "I really am sorry. If you don't want me to be here," Fox stood, "I'll leave and-"

Krystal cut him off, "Who are you?"

The vulpine blinked, "Krystal…. You know me." He sat back down, "It's me, Fox."

The little blue vixen tilted her head to the side and scratched her head, "Who's Fox?"

"Krystal stop it this isn't funny. You know who I am."

"Who's Krystal? Where am I?"

McCloud took another approach, "Kursed?" he suggested, "You're a bounty hunter. On the planet Kew. Any of this ringing a bell?"

A look of disgust crossed her face, "_Kursed? _Who's that?"

He faced her, "Y-you don't remember?"

Krystal swung her legs off of the cot, "What do you mean? And what am I doing in here anyway?"

"No! Krystal don't!" the fox tried setting the little blue fox down but she resisted. She stood but her back cramped and she sat down, "How did that happen?"

Fox was about to spill out the story, but then held himself, if he told her the story then she might have remembered and then she would remember her hatred for him, "I don't know," he lied, "We just found you like this."

"We?"

"Falco and I?"

"Who's Falco? Can I meet him?"

_**X**_

**2057 Hours, 1 May, 2439 (Venomian Military Calendar), Venomian Military Hideout, Venom, Lylat System.**

"This is unacceptable Lieutenant… This is intolerable.

"Two of the prisoners have escaped and we don't even know who or what they are. Plus, one of our fighters has been stolen. And now we cannot find it or the person who has commandeered it. To add to that, about tem of our commanding officers have been killed. You're lucky I don't bump you down to Corporal for this."

The wolf that stood in front of the wolverine at his desk took in a deep breath, "Permission to speak freely… _Sir_?"

"Denied."

The Lieutenant shook his head and did so anyway, "As if this is my fault Sir! I wasn't in charge of the areas where the escapes took place! If they didn't find what we are working on… Then we aren't in much trouble are we?"

"I don't think you understand the severity of this matter Lieutenant."

"Of course I do. But if no major damage was done, then we are fine. Obviously their only objective was to save the bird and that blue fox Krystal. And maybe it is just purely coincidence that they killed only the commanding officers."

The wolverine leaned forward in his desk, "And no such thing will ever happen. I need you to assemble a team to overtake these… Strangers. Use whatever you can. Commandos, soldiers here, anything in the system."

"But Sir, any AWOL troops are tough to deal with. Commandos are hard to find, Marines are tough to catch, but anything in the System? That's a really broad scope."

"That is because I am giving you the freedom to choose whatever you want. Assemble your Force. Special Ops, Marines, Commandos, anything you need. I want you off the record and off base in forty-eight hours. This attack never happened."

"Yes Sir," the wolf turned and headed towards the door, "You won't be disappointed."

"Oh, and O'Donnell."

"Yes Sir?"

"Bring me their leader… Alive."

The lupine grinned darkly, "Yes sir."

_**X**_

**1523 Hours, 2 May, 2439 (Cornerian Military Calendar), **_**Great Fox**_** Medical Bay, Venom, Lylat System.**

"Falco this is serious. She's suffering some major amnesia right now."

The avian smirked and glanced over at the blue fox who was getting some water, wearing some of Fox's casual wear, "She doesn't remember?"

"Nothing. She didn't even know her own name."

Falco whistled, "Does she remember how to fly?"

"Most likely not."

"We can't keep her here then. She's gonna do nothing but bring us down if she's gonna sit around and do nothing. We need to send her back to Corneria."

"No. I can't do that. Where'll she go?"

"I'm pretty sure Peppy would gladly take her in."

"No. That won't work." Fox rested his elbow on one of the chairs and rested his forehead in his paw, "Let me re-teach her how to fly and to fight. She's a fast learner and maybe she'll start to remember."

Falco sighed, "Okay. You've got one week. That's all."


End file.
